Tag: avocado

Okay, so now we’ve covered about twenty different ways to incorporate avocados into your daily diet, the reasons why you should add avocados to your family grocery list, and the choosing and care of avocados…

But wait…that’s not all…

Avocados and Skin Care…Avocados are good for your skin. Avocados are rich in nutrients—such as fat-soluble vitamins monounsaturated fats, various minerals, and essential fatty acids.Avocados have been shown to improve both the health and tone of your skin, as well as eliminate signs of premature aging. Avocados are especially great for skin that is dry, chapped or damaged.

Many cosmetic manufacturers add avocado to their products for this reason, but given the fact that the avocados that you can purchase from your local grocer or market are relatively cheap, cruelty free, and contain no added synthetic chemicals, why not use real avocados to enjoy the real benefits of using what might be nature’s best moisturizer.

Avocado Body Scrub…Avocados can be easily paired with many different ingredients to make a healthy body scrub at home. Most of the following scrub ideas can be used not only in the shower as a body scrub, but also as a scrub or mask for your face, depending on the consistency of the second ingredient.

Avocados and Hair…Avocados are also great for nourishing dry and damaged hair. The following avocado hair mask include smoothing and moisturizing your locks without weighing down fine hair, adding shine, and restoring natural luster to your hair.

Guacamole…Guacamole, that traditional Mexican and Central American dip that we are all so familiar with, and that I could eat by the gallons, is another way to incorporate avocado in your diet. Here’s a great recipe to try…Vegetarian Guacamole Recipe by Jamie Oliver

These Vegan Enchiladas with Cilantro Avocado Cream Sauce from Oh She Glows have just been added to this week’s menu plan. In addition to serving the sauce over the enchiladas, you can also serve sauces such as this with chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs.

Salad…Avocados are best eaten along with other fruits and vegetables because avocados enhance the nutrients that are present in whatever fruits and vegetables you serve them with—at least tripling how well your body absorbs carotenoid, an antioxidant which helps protect the body against free radical damage.

Avocado Salad Recipe…Mix chopped onion, tomato, lettuce, avocado, and any other vegetables or meat you desire or that you have on hand. Add salt, pepper, lime juice, and drizzle olive oil over the salad. You may add

Smoothies...Avocado smoothies are a great breakfast treat or post-workout snack.great breakfast treat or post-workout snack. For the simplest avocado smoothie, blend together 1 whole avocado, 1C milk, 1C ice, 1⁄2tsp vanilla, and 2Tbsp sugar….using any milk or sugar substitutes that you choose (more on this later)

Soup…Any easy way to incorporate avocado into any other soup would be to use it as a garnish. This will add both flavor and health benefits.

Sushi…Avocado are akey ingredient in California rolls and other makizushi (“maki”, or rolled sushi). I’ve only tried making sushi once, but I’m seriously thinking about getting my sushi mats back out and trying this recipe from Plant Based U.

So with all these recipes on hand and both my interest and taste buds awakened, I have now added avocados to our family’s permanent grocery list. Not only will these avocado recipes make a filling addition to our future meals and snacks, they will also provide ourfamily with nutritious heart-healthy fats, fiber, folate, vitamin A, potassium and more.

The first word that you probably think of whenever you hear the word “avocado” ismost likely “guacamole”…

And if you’re like me, you rarely saw avocados when you were growing up in any other location than the local Mexican restaurant.

Since avocados and Mexican food always seem to go hand in hand, then it is no shock to learn that the avocado is believed to have first originated in the state of Puebla, Mexico, where archaeologists have discovered avocado pits lodged in caves dating back to at least 10,000 B.C.

Today Mexico remains the largest avocado-growing country in the world, but avocados have also become an important cash crop for California, since having first been introduced from Mexico to California in the 19th century. Over 95% of all United States avocado production takes place in Southern California…60% in San Diego County alone.

Avocados have become a superfood of choice for many who are overhauling their eating habits.

Their unique appearance, taste, and health benefits have moved avocados from being a novelty food item once used only in guacamole, to now being a staple ingredient on many family grocery lists and an important ingredient…in everything from avocado toast at breakfast to avocado mousse for dessert.

Avocados are available in many varieties, but most of the avocados found in your local market will be ‘Hass’ avocados, the most common cultivar of avocado. It is this Hass cultivar that currently account for 80% of all avocados cultivated in the world in any given year.

All ‘Hass’ trees are descended from a single “mother tree” raised by a mail carrier named Rudolph Hass, of La Habra Heights, California. Hass patented the productive tree in 1935, and the “mother tree” finally died of root rot and had to be cut down in September, 2002.

These Hass avocados are the typical avocados that are medium-sized ovals with black, pebbly skin.

The flesh of these avocados is green and not particularly sweet. They have a distinct and subtle flavor, and a smooth texture. These avocados can be used in making both savory and sweet dishes.

So here are a few points about choosing and storing this new addition to my Grocery IQ app…

1.It is not necessary to buy organic. Avocado already has a very thick skin that protects it from any pesticides.

2. Do not refrigerate avocados as soon as you get them home from the store. Most of the avocados that you find at the local market have been picked while still unripe, and will require another four or five days to ripen. Once the avocado is actually ripe, it will yield to gentle pressure when held in the palm of the hand and squeezed.

Some supermarkets sell fully-ripe avocados. These avocados have been treated with synthetic ethylene gas in a “ripening room,” a practice that has now become an industry standard, since first being pioneered in the 1980s by Gil Henry, a farmer from Escondido, California, after watching hidden footage films from a hidden supermarket camera which showed shoppers repeatedly squeezing hard, unripe avocados, putting them “back in the bin,” and moving on without making a purchase. (Sorry, but doesn’t that count as part of the “food processing” that so many of us are trying to avoid right now?!)

3. If you want your avocados to ripen faster, then place them in a paper bag along with an apple or banana. This will expose the avocados to the ethylene gas that they need to fully ripen.

4. After using part of an avocado, the rest of the avocado may be stored in the refrigerator for future use.

5. Add lime or lemon juice to keep them “pretty”after peeling, especially if serving as part of a buffet. The flesh of the avocado is prone to enzymatically browning when being exposed to air.

6. Propagating Your Own…Remove the pit from a ripe, unrefrigerated avocado fruit. Stab the pit with three or four toothpicks, about one-third of the way up from the flat end. Place the pit with the toothpicks attached in a jar of water. Four to six weeks later, you should start seeing roots and a sprout. Plant the pit in a pot of soil once the stem has grown a few inches. Keep watering it every few days, and eventually you may end up having a very large avocado tree…or another something to keep a “resident four year old” entertained at least.

that adding avocado to a meal helps further carotenoid absorption. (9)…To promote a healthy, shining complexion, simply rub the inside of an

avocado peel on your skin and use…Mix in some therapeutic essential oils and you can easily make a cost-effective lotion instead of pouring out money for that store-bought stuff filled with irritating chemicals!

Avocado can also be used to make homemade hair masks to replenish, moisture and add shine….4. Cancer Prevention…Several studies have surfaced recently touting

avocado as a cancer-fighting food. The Journal of Nutrition and Cancer published the results of a study, for instance, claiming that the phytochemicals in

avocados are so powerful that they could prevent the use of chemotherapy in people with oral cancer! (10)…Researchers from Ohio State University are taking this theory one step further and attempting to figure out exactly how this phenomenon happens. A preliminary study published in 2011 suggests that the specific phytonutrient combination within each

avocado may hold the key to its anticancer effects. (11) Research suggests that phytochemicals extracted from

avocado phytochemicals extracted with 50 percent methanol help in proliferation of human lymphocyte cells and decrease chromosomal changes….Another reason that

avocados are being linked to reduced risks for both cancer and diabetes is their MUFAs. These have been shown to offer better protection against chronic diseases compared to other types of fatty acids because of their ability to lower inflammation. (13) Beta-sitosterol is also highly protective of the prostate and linked to better immune function and lower prostate cancer risk, while carotenoid antioxidants are beneficial for preventing skin cancer — making eating

avocados are one of the best fruit sources of fiber. Depending on the size of the

avocado, one whole fruit has between 11–17 grams of fiber! That’s more than nearly any other fruit and most servings of vegetables, grains and beans too.
High-fiber foods are important for anyone with digestive tract issue because fiber helps shift the balance of bacteria in the gut, increasing healthy bacteria while decreasing the unhealthy bacteria that can be the root of some digestive disorders. Fiber also helps add bulk to stool, makes it easier to go to the bathroom, and helps pull waste and toxins through the intestines and colon….Fats are also essential for digestion and nutrient absorption because they nourish the lining of the gut. A low-fat diet can result in constipation or symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is a fluctuating disorder of the gastrointestinal tract characterized by abdominal pain and change in bowel habits….. Protection from Insulin Resistance and Diabetes…According to a large group of studies, weight maintenance with a MUFA-rich diet improves fasting insulin levels in insulin-resistant subjects. Ingestion of a MUFA-dense food (such as

Avocado Recipes…Mango

Avocado Salsa

Avocado Bison Burger

Avocado Soup…Chocolate

Avocado Mousse

Avocado Pizza.

avocados with nearly any meal or snack — even as a burger topping at your neighborhood BBQ. One pilot study with research supported by the Hass

Avocado Board and conducted by researchers at UCLA found that adding half of an

avocado to a 90 percent lean burger may cut down on compounds that lead to inflammation, which could, in turn, be associated with heart disease. The study was conducted on 11 healthy males ages 18-35, and while further research is needed on other individuals, the results of this pilot test are promising. Compared to eating a burger by itself, topping it with half of a fresh Hass

avocado adds not only great flavor and texture, but could also add beneficial anti-inflammatory responses during digestion. Score!…You can get inventive, if you’ve got culinary inclinations, too: A halved and pitted

avocado topped with an egg, sprinkled with chives and a little sea salt, and baked for about 15 minutes is an easy way to impress friends when you’re stumped about what to bring to potluck brunch. Adding

avocado to a smoothie with other nutrient-rich foods or fruits can be a great post-workout snack, or a healthful way to start the day. For dinner,

avocado and tomato salad (or, let’s be honest, adding

avocado to just about any salad) with a little balsamic vinegar is a tasty treat that’s also diet-friendly….So, there you go: There’s a lot more to this simple, mighty superfruit than you might have previously thought — so go ahead and order that side of guac.Image

Avocados are the darling of the produce section. They’re the go-to ingredient for guacamole dips at parties. And they’re also turning up in everything from salads and wraps to smoothies and even brownies. So what, exactly, makes this pear-

avocado is popular in vegetarian cuisine as a substitute for meats in sandwiches and salads because of its high fat content….Generally,

avocaa chips (left)….It is used as the base for the Mexican dip known as guacamole,[4] as well as a spread on corn tortillas or toast, served with spices….In the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, and southern India (especially the coastal Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka region),

avocados are frequently used for milkshakes and occasionally added to ice cream and other desserts. In Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines[54] and Indonesia, a dessert drink is made with sugar, milk or water, and pureed

avocado. Chocolate syrup is sometimes added. In Morocco, a similar chilled

avocado and milk drink is sweetened with confectioner’s sugar and hinted with orange flower water….In Ethiopia,

avocados are made into juice by mixing them with sugar and milk or water, usually served with Vimto and a slice of lemon. It is also common to serve layered multiple fruit juices in a glass (locally called Spris) made of avocados, mangoes, bananas, guavas, and papayas.

Avocados are also used to make salads.

Avocados in savory dishes, often seen as exotic, are a relative novelty in Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Brazil, where the traditional preparation is mashed with sugar and lime, and eaten as a dessert or snack. This contrasts with Spanish-speaking countries such as Chile, Mexico, or Argentina, where the opposite is true and sweet preparations are rare….Sliced

avocado…In Australia and New Zealand, it is commonly served in sandwiches, sushi, on toast, or with chicken. In Ghana, it is often eaten alone in sliced bread as a sandwich. In Sri Lanka, well-ripened flesh, thoroughly mashed with sugar and milk, or treacle (a syrup made from the nectar of a particular palm flower) is a popular dessert. In Haiti, it is often consumed with cassava or regular bread for breakfast.
In Mexico and Central America,

avocados are served mixed with white rice, in soups, salads, or on the side of chicken and meat. In Peru, they are consumed with tequeños as mayonnaise, served as a side dish with parrillas, used in salads and sandwiches, or as a whole dish when filled with tuna, shrimp, or chicken. In Chile, it is used as a puree-like sauce with chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs; and in slices for celery or lettuce salads. The Chilean version of Caesar salad contains large slices of mature

avocado. In Kenya and Nigeria, the

avocado is often eaten as a fruit eaten alone or mixed with other fruits in a fruit salad, or as part of a vegetable salad.